Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan were still sleeping when they heard footsteps outside. Jing Lan stood at the door and said respectfully, "Your Highness, Miss Shangguan is here."
Li Rong was not surprised to hear this voice. She closed her eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "Let her wait for a moment."
After Li Rong finished speaking, she slowed down a little.
Now that it was almost winter, the weather was much colder. She did not sleep enough last night, so she needed some courage to get out of bed when she was suddenly woken up.
Li Rong heard Pei Wenxuan get up and then lit the lamp. She squinted her eyes under the light and raised her hand to rub her eyes. Just as she was about to get up, she felt someone drape a coat over her body.
The coat was warm. Li Rong adjusted to the light and saw Pei Wenxuan draped a coat over her. He was holding her clothes and helping her put them on.
Li Rong looked at Pei Wenxuan and felt a little sleepy. She tilted her head on his shoulder and let him help her lift her hands. He stuffed her clothes into her sleeves and tied the belt for her. She leaned against him and said with her eyes closed, "The weather is so cold. I don't want to go to court."
"If I really don't let you go to court, I'm afraid you'll be unhappy."
Pei Wenxuan laughed and put a furry fox fur cloak on her.
After putting on the clothes, Li Rong did not feel cold anymore and got out of bed with more courage. Pei Wenxuan saw her leaning on his shoulder and raised his hand to hug her. He said with a smile, "Shangguan Ya is here. Are you up?"
"I know." Li Rong sighed and got out of bed with the help of Pei Wenxuan. He called Jing Lan and the others in and helped her wash up. While washing up, he said, "I can roughly guess what she wants to say. It's not something urgent."
"Probably Shangguan Xu and her have reached an agreement."
Pei Wenxuan wiped his face and analyzed, "This way, Your Highness can be considered to have gotten what you wanted."
Li Rong responded. After washing up, he went out with Pei Wenxuan.
The two of them stepped over the threshold together. Pei Wenxuan grabbed Li Rong's hand and whispered, "Your Highness, be careful."
Li Rong's body stiffened.
In the past, whenever Pei Wenxuan pulled her over, she would think that Pei Wenxuan was unintentional, absent-minded, and did not notice. But now that he pulled her over so naturally, she could no longer treat it as unintentional.
However, she couldn't directly shake off his hand. She always felt that if she responded too fiercely, it would seem that she would tear apart a layer of paper. After tearing it apart, she didn't dare to think about what she would have to face.
So she unconsciously looked at Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan noticed her gaze, turned his head, and smiled faintly, "Your Highness, why are you looking at me?"
Li Rong was brought back to her senses by his question. She stiffly looked away and said, "Nothing, I was distracted."
"I'm afraid you didn't sleep enough."
Pei Wenxuan gently said, "Tonight, I urged Your Highness to sleep early."
"En."
Li Rong didn't want to be entangled with him on this topic. He casually pulled back his hand and touched his own hand, saying, "I forgot to apply some perfume today."
"Then I'll have someone bring it and apply it on the carriage for you."
Pei Wenxuan immediately replied. Then, without waiting for Li Rong to refuse, he smiled and said, "And Your Highness doesn't need to worry. Even if you didn't apply any perfume today, Your Highness's hand is still as tender and beautiful as usual. There's no need to add any extra perfume."
When Li Rong heard him say these words with a smile, she felt that he seemed to have seen through her hiding and was deliberately flirting with her in a serious manner.
She lightly coughed and said, "Prince Consort, you're becoming more and more flattering."
Pei Wenxuan didn't reply. He smiled and came forward, holding Li Rong's hand again. His tone was gentle, but he didn't allow her to refuse, saying, "The weather is cold, and you didn't apply any perfume. Let this official block the wind for Your Highness, so that you don't get sores."
Li Rong saw that Pei Wenxuan was very unyielding on this matter and kept pestering her. She secretly liked the feeling of him holding her hand. After all, the weather was cold, and everyone liked warm things. So she was too lazy to argue. She followed her heart and pretended not to know, and walked with him to the main hall.
When they reached the main hall, Shangguan Ya was already waiting there. She seemed to be sleepy, and was dozing off with her head propped up. Li Rong led Pei Wenxuan in and smiled, "What, you didn't sleep all night?"
Shangguan Ya was startled by Li Rong's words, and her entire body trembled. When she realized who it was, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and complained, "Your Highness, can you not suddenly frighten people?"
Li Rong smiled and didn't reply. He sat opposite Shangguan Ya, and Pei Wenxuan sat next to her. After sitting down, he began to make tea. Shangguan Ya glanced at Pei Wenxuan and smiled, "Prince Consort, you're back? It seems that the journey was smooth. "
"If it wasn't smooth," Pei Wenxuan put the tea leaves into the purple clay teapot and smiled, "Miss Shangguan wouldn't be sitting here."
"That's true." Shangguan Ya nodded and turned to look at Li Rong, "Princess has good taste. Having the Prince Consort is like adding wings to a tiger. It's easy to do things."
"Just tell me the result."
Li Rong calmly said, "It's almost morning court. I'm waiting for your father's reply. I should have asked Imperial Mother to pass on the words that should be said. What does your father think?"
"Since I'm here, it's naturally settled."
Shangguan Ya smiled, "My father means that everything will be done according to Your Highness's wishes. From today onwards, Shangguan Family will conduct an internal investigation and assist Your Highness with all our strength. "
"How do you plan to conduct the investigation?" Li Rong lowered his eyes and asked when he heard the water beside him boil. Pei Wenxuan poured the water into the purple clay teapot and poured it over the tea tray.
Shangguan Ya had already prepared a plan and calmly said, "I'll be in charge of this matter. Tonight, Shangguan Family will hold a family meeting in the ancestral hall. I'll convey Your Highness's wishes and then I'll privately investigate the past one by one. Shangguan Family's crimes are divided into three categories. The first category involves serious crimes involving life and death and will implicate the Crown Prince. I'll report it to Your Highness and let Your Highness punish it as a merit of the Inspection Department."
"Although the second category involves serious crimes, most of them involve money. The amount involved is huge, so I'll persuade them to resign."
"The third category involves not much money. This category will only be used as a warning not to commit the same crime again."
After Shangguan Ya classified the crimes, he looked up at Li Rong and smiled, "What does Your Highness think?"
Li Rong looked into Shangguan Ya's eyes and remained silent.
Pei Wenxuan poured the tea in front of the two ladies and then reached out to hold Li Rong's hand. He held the tea and sipped it quietly.
The warmth of Pei Wenxuan's hand calmed Li Rong's chaotic thoughts and allowed her to think more calmly.
In fact, she clearly knew that her answer at this moment would determine Shangguan Ya's final position.
Shangguan Ya cooperated with her for two reasons. First, it was for his own power in the Shangguan Family. Second, more importantly, he wanted to protect the Shangguan Family. If she went overboard and forced the Shangguan Family into a corner, Shangguan Ya would probably think of another way.
Moreover, she indeed couldn't completely destroy the Shangguan Family. She only wanted to control the Shangguan Family, not destroy it.
However, if she punished them too lightly, it would be unfair to the Qin Family and they would easily be disappointed. Moreover, the Shangguan Family might think that she was a pushover and bully her like how they bullied Li Chuan.
Li Rong pondered for a moment, then took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Uncle, what do you think of this military pay case?"
"The military pay case is a matter that threatens the foundation of the country," Shangguan Ya said calmly, "Your Highness, you naturally have to decide on such a case."
"What about the Qin Family case?"
Li Rong continued to ask. Shangguan Ya remained silent for a moment and said slowly, "Your Highness, the Qin Family is still alive."
The Qin Family was still alive, and this case was handled by Shangguan Xu. If they continued to investigate, they would probably implicate Shangguan Xu's trusted aides.
Shangguan Ya sat on his knees and continued, "Initially, my father didn't want to exterminate the Qin Family. He just wanted to find an excuse to punish the Qin Family. However, in order to please my father, the Ministry of War tore up the military log and reported it to the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice. The Censorate and the Ministry of Justice didn't know that the military log had been torn up, so they speculated that the Qin Family had colluded with the enemy and fabricated evidence. My father was wrong in this matter, but it's definitely not like what Your Highness thinks, where you can exterminate an entire family for your own selfish reasons. "
It was just that everyone pushed a little bit in the middle, and in the end, it became a big case.
When the Ministry of War received the news, they wanted to investigate the Qin Family's crimes. The Qin Family didn't have any crimes, so the higher-ups couldn't handle the task, so they tore up the military log and found a stain.
When the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice saw this stain, they speculated that there must be a problem. If they didn't have evidence, then they would fabricate evidence. In any case, in their eyes, there was definitely a problem with this case. It was just that they didn't have evidence, and they didn't wrongly accuse the Qin Family.
By the time the news reached Shangguan Xu, the situation had changed completely. Even if he knew that there might be some loopholes in the story, he guessed that there wouldn't be too big of a loophole. The Qin Family deserved to die, but if they could use the death of the Qin Family to threaten Li Ming and Xiao Su, then it couldn't be any better.
Li Rong listened to Shangguan Ya's words. After a while, he nodded and said, "I understand what you want. However, so many people have died. "
Li Rong looked up at Shangguan Ya and said, "I'm afraid it won't make sense for you to insist that I failed in my duty. There has to be blood in the Qin Clan case. "
Shangguan Ya pursed her lips. Li Rong said calmly, "I know it's difficult for you. If you help me deal with uncle's subordinates, I'm afraid that uncle won't have anyone to rely on in the future. Give me the list of names. "
Shangguan Ya was stunned. Li Rong turned to look at her and asked, "Who killed the witnesses?"
Shangguan Ya reacted after hearing Li Rong's words.
The Qin Clan case couldn't be investigated openly. If they continued investigating, it would implicate the Empress. At that time, they would be shooting themselves in the foot and affecting Li Chuan's position as the Crown Prince.
However, whether it was the subordinates deceiving their superiors in order to please Shangguan Xu, framing the Qin Family, or killing people to cover up their crimes, these matters couldn't be let go so easily.
They could only be dealt with privately as a warning.
Shangguan Ya bowed and said, "I'll get the list of names."
Li Rong nodded and turned to look at the sky outside. He said calmly, "You can go back now. I have to go to court."
Shangguan Ya responded and bowed. When she got up, she glanced at the two of them and raised her eyebrows. "Your Highness, is it cold today?"
Li Rong was a little puzzled. "Huh?"
Pei Wenxuan held her hand with one hand and held a teacup with the other as he calmly drank tea. Shangguan Ya smiled. "Prince Consort has been holding onto you all this time. You two have a good relationship."
Hearing this, Li Rong's face turned red for no reason.
She hadn't experienced this for many years and felt a little embarrassed. Pei Wenxuan smiled gently and said, "Miss Shangguan, you'd better go back and catch up on your sleep. You can go to the casino and play a few rounds of Leaf cards. Otherwise, Prince Consort Su will lose more weight today and look haggard."
When Shangguan Ya heard Pei Wenxuan quietly mocking her, she quickly waved her hand and said, "I can't afford to offend you. I'm leaving now."
After she finished speaking, she walked out of the room. After she left, Li Rong breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. He finally had a reason to pull his hand out of Pei Wenxuan's hand and said unhappily, "You've been holding onto me all this time. If outsiders see this, they'll laugh at us."
When Pei Wenxuan heard this, he lowered his head and chuckled. He stood up with Li Rong and followed Li Rong out of the room.
When Li Rong saw him laughing at her, she frowned and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
At this time, the sky was still dark. The two walked one after the other on the long corridor. Pei Wenxuan was only half a step away from her. His warmth mixed with the cold morning wind blew on her back. Li Rong couldn't help but look at him.
The lantern painted with Chang 'e holding the moon swayed gently in the wind. The soft light shone on the young man dressed in a black official's robe. Pei Wenxuan smiled and said slowly, "If I tell you why I'm laughing, Your Highness will be angry with me."
"Tell me." Li Rong tapped his small fan on his palm and added, "If you don't tell me, I'll be angry with you."
"If Your Highness says so, then this official can only tell you the truth."
Pei Wenxuan sighed helplessly. Then he casually walked up to Li Rong's side. Holding the ceremonial tablet in his hand, he put his lips next to Li Rong's ear and whispered, "I know the name of the rouge Your Highness used today."
His breath was like an invisible hand that gently caressed her ear. His hoarse voice that contained a hint of laughter drilled into her heart. Without waiting for her response, he said, "Chunxia."
Li Rong didn't say anything. She turned to look at Pei Wenxuan. This person was very close to her. He was like a peach blossom that crossed the long corridor and slanted in front of her. The branches were elegantly hanging down, and the posture was beautiful and seductive.
This kind of Pei Wenxuan was very similar to the gentle and elegant young master in her memories. But compared to the ignorant 20-year-old Pei Wenxuan, this person today was more calm and measured. He tentatively grasped the distance, carefully approached, showed goodwill, and reminded her.
He quietly moved past them, and before anyone noticed, he hurriedly returned to the border.
If she was still 18 years old, Pei Wenxuan's actions would cause her to worry about personal gains and losses. On one hand, she would wonder if this person liked her, and on the other hand, she was afraid that she would misunderstand. On one hand, she would feel uneasy because of his actions, and on the other hand, she had to restrain herself. She was afraid that her embarrassing emotions would be seen by him.
But now, she was an old fox in her fifties. She had seen many things between men and women. Before, she was blinded by Pei Wenxuan and couldn't see clearly. Now that she reacted, she knew that he was deliberately teasing her.
She was originally somewhat unwilling to be in such a passive position. Now that he was laughing at her blushing, she couldn't help but feel a bit angry. She also wanted to let Pei Wenxuan test her feelings.
Therefore, she smiled slightly and only said, "Then I also know what incense Fuma used today."
Pei Wenxuan raised his eyebrows. Li Rong stood on tiptoe and moved closer to his ear. He opened his small fan to block the side, as if he was afraid that someone would hear. In a low voice, he said, "Is it sandalwood?"
Pei Wenxuan was slightly stunned. He was about to refute, but then he realized something. He stared blankly at Li Rong. He saw Li Rong pursed his lips and chuckle. He turned around and waved his fan, swaying his waist, and lightly walked away.
"When can I borrow the east wind, blowing sandalwood to my pillow." (Note 1)
"The embroidered bed leans against the delicate one, chewing red velvet, smiling at sandalwood." (Note 2)
These poems suddenly appeared in Pei Wenxuan's mind, and his face instantly turned red.
Li Rong walked a few steps and saw that Pei Wenxuan didn't follow. He turned around and saw Pei Wenxuan standing in the corridor in a daze. He didn't know what he was thinking, but his face turned red all the way to his ears. Li Rong immediately laughed loudly and stood at the side of the corridor. "Pei Wenxuan, let's go."
Pei Wenxuan reacted. Like a small animal whose fur had been tamed, he followed Li Rong with a red face.
This time, he didn't say anything. Holding the ceremonial tablet, he quietly followed Li Rong. Li Rong saw that his momentum had dissipated. He put his hands behind his back and became much happier. She pursed her lips and was quite happy the whole way. Pei Wenxuan's emotions slowly calmed down. He raised his head and looked at the young girl in front of him who was walking with her hands behind her back.
He couldn't help but smile.
This was the first time in her life that she had responded to him so intimately.
Even if it was in such a roundabout and joking way that she didn't even notice, she still gave him a hint.
He was her sandalwood.
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